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16—47372-1 OPO 



Poetical History 

of 

Berks County 

Written for the Sesqui-Centennial, 
March //, I902, 

By 

D, B. Brunner, Ji. M. 

Teacher of the Business Branches in the 

Boys' High School, 

and 

Chairman of the Sesqui-Centennial 

Committee of the County. 



This Poem icill be sent by mnll to any address at 
10 cents a copy or $1.00 for 20 copies. 






POETICAL HISTORY 

OF 

sBERKS COUNTY. 



We live in a progressive age, 

Full of auspicious signs; 
An age of steam and telegraphs 

And 'phones and trolley lines — 
An age of hurry, haste and bustle 

In every occupation, 
An age of science and refinement 

And liberal education. 

All men are moving rapidly. 

Determined to succeed; 
And every business is dispatched 

With an electric speed. 

The grand electric telegraph 

O'er continent and ocean. 
And the untiring printing press 

With its incessant motion, 
Have recently annihilated 

Long distance, time and space. 
And brought the nations of the globe 

Together, face to face. 

We look far out into the future, 

So promising and vast. 
And are too apt, then, to forget 

The history of the past. 

We have a thousand plans in view 

To perfect and effect. 
And do not take a moment's time 

To take a retrospect — 



To view the hardships of the people 

In their rude habitations 
And see them struggle in their trials 

For many generations. 

I want to give you a pen picture, 
That all of you may know, 

The drear condition of "Old Berks" 
Two hundred years ago. 



INDIANS. 

Two hundred years ago! "Old Berks" 
Was owned and peopled then 

By a degiaded, barbarous race 
Of copper colored men. 

The Delawares, the owners then. 

Divided as a nation, 
Into the Turkey, Turtle, Wolf, 

According to location. 

They lived in towns and villages 

Near by a flowing spring, 
And every Indian burg and town 

Was governed by a king. 

They lived in wigwams built of sticks, 
Shaped somewhat like a cone, 

And covered with raw hides and bark 
Without the use of stone. 

They had to have warm clothes and 
shoes 

Against the winter's cold, 
And yet they had no markets where 

These articles were sold. 

They plowed and dug, and planted corn. 

Without a horse or mule. 
And they had not for many years 

A steel or iron tool. 

They had no looms to make their cloth 

For articles of wear. 
They tanned the skins of animals 

Such as the deer and bear. 

They had no matches to strike Are, 
For warming in cold weather, 

Whene'er they were in want of flame 
They rubbed two sticks together. 



They had no powder, guns nor balls, 
To shoot the game when near, 

But they were very fleet of foot 
And eas'ly caught the deer. 

They lived upon the corn they raised. 
And this they ground, when pounded, 

Their meat they gathered from the 
game 
With which "Old Berks" abounded. 

The fish were numerous in the streams. 
And these they speared by dint 

Of some convenient pole or stick, 
Tipped with a slender flint. 

The Indian towns and villages 
And where they were located; 

Their number and the size of each, 
Can be correctly stated. 

The great amount of Indian relics 

Which are still to be found, 
Denote beyond the slightest doubt, 

Their certain camping ground. 

And where we find the largest heaps 
Of quartz and jasper shreds. 

These are the places where they chipp'd 
Their spears and arrowheads. 

A large and an important town 

Was aptly situated. 
Where the industrious city of Reading 

Is happily located. 

This town extended from the Schuyl- 
kill 

Out to th' Mineral Spring, 
And of this large and central town, 

Manangy was the king. 

Another town along the Schuylkill 
With Dick's and Fritz's isles. 

Extended from Angelica, 
A distance of four miles. 

This town extended o'er a large 
And fertile piece of ground. 

Where many of the finest relics 
Have recently been found. 



The Oley Valley, circumscribed 

By fine and lofty hills 
And permeated in all sections 

By numerous rippling rills, 
With all its woods and lofty trees, 

Made this a fine location 
And very well adapted for 

An Indian habitation. 

Then, Maxatawny was a town, 

And as its name declares. 
Abounded in all kinds of game, 

Especially in bears. 

The relics that are gathered here 

Show one important fact. 
Their artisans were men of skill 

And of the finest tact. 

The next two villages in line, 

Adjoining Maxatawny, 
Were situated on Moselem, 

And on the Ontelaunee. 

A town of very great importance 

And densely populated. 
Was at Sacunk where Virginsville 

Is charmingly located. 

The population here was dense; 

More implements are found 
Than anywhere in Berks upon 

The same extent of ground. 

The relics used in playing games, 

Are very numerous here. 
And that it was a place of gaming. 

Is absolutely clear. 

They seemed to meet here every year 
To hold their annual fairs; 

To hold athletic contests and 
To show their flinty wares. 

I have observed that implements. 

Found fifty yards apart. 
Were made of different minerals 

With different skill and art. 

This strange diversity of relics, 
Has nowhere been excelled, 



And shows that here lemaikable 
Assemblages were held. 

The land of turtles, Tulpehockon, 

A town a few miles long. 
Was once a sub-tribe large in number, 

Brave, warlike, fierce and strong. 

The relics and the numerals used 

Are nearly all the same. 
This shows that all the sub-tribes dif- 
fered, 

But in their local name. 

That Indians were quite numerous her i, 
Each one well understands; 

Because one hundred thousand relics 
Are in collectors' hands. 

You must remember that these Indians 
Had no hard-tempered tools, 

They had no churches and no halls. 
Nor had they any schools. 

They had no patent saws nor planes. 

Nor any sharp steel axes, 
They paid no revenues to king 

No school nor city taxes. 

They killed their game with quartzite 
spears 

And this almost at will, 
And dressed it with their jasper knives 

With readiness and skill. 

They used the thin bones of the deer 

For needles and for pins, 
They cut the hides with jasper knives 

To make their moccasins. 

For their canoes they burned the trees 

And then they went about. 
With fire and axe until they had 

The whole log hollowed out. 

INDIAN TOWN AT READING. 

Now if you can imagine that 
You stood upon Mount Penn, 

And see the city, mills and shops. 
And other works of men, 

And then imagine also that 



The ruthless hand of fate 
Had razed all buildings from the land 

And made it desolate, 
And that no steam car could be seen. 

No mills and furnace fires, 
No farms, nor stores nor printing press. 

Nor telegraphic wires; 
But everything as far as seen. 

In nature's ancient dress, 
Unchanged by any art of man— 

A total wilderness; 
And that you saw no human beings 

On acres cultivated, 
Except a barbarous tribe of men, 

Where Reading is located. 
Now if you can portray these scenes. 

Your graphic views will show 
A vivid picture of "Old Berks" 

Two hundred years ago. 

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 

But by and by more settlers came. 
By thousands, not by scores. 

To seek a place of liberty 
Upon America's shores. 

The mode of life between the white man 

And his benighted brother. 
Did not agree in anything, 

But different from each other. 

When Philadelphia was well settled 

Adventurers went forth. 
And as the tendency was then • 

They usually went north. 

And as the settlers gradually 
To northern parts proceeded, 

The Indians just as speedily 
From year to year retreated. 

The earliest settlement in Berks, 

According to old deeds 
Was made in seventeen hundred one 

By enterprising Swedes. 

This settlement was just two miles 

South of Monoc'cy Hill, 
The place was called Molattan then 

But later, Douglassville. 

6 



This was upon the border line 

Of peace and civilization, 
Where Penn's officials and the Indians, 

Oft met in consultation. 

Mounce Jones in seventeen hundred 
sixteen. 

With more than usual care. 
Put up a dwelling house and fort 

That is still standing there. 

In this historical old house 

The Indian chiefs would meet 
The officer of Penn's domain 
^ To plan, consult and treat. 

The settlers spread through Amity 

By slow but sure degrees 
Built houses, and prepared the land 

By felling woods and trees. 

The settlers moved toward the north 
Through woodland; dale and glen. 

And made a settlement in Oley 
In seventeen hundred ten. 

This township had an Indian town 

And one of fine location. 
And this the settlers wisely chose 

For their own habitation. 

By new arrivals every year 

The settlers multiplied, 
And, with their fortune they appeared 

Content and satisfied. 

But here occurred years later on 

As I shall then relate. 
One of the greatest church events 

That happened in the state. 

QUAKERS. 

Friends in the meantime settled land 
Down from the Manatawny 

Along the grand Monocacy 
Up to the Ontelaunee. 

The land along Monocacy 
Was rich in wood and soil. 

And was most wisely chosen by 
The hardy hands of toil. 



The eastern part of Exeter 

Was very fertile land, 
And in its woods and lofty trees 

Was beautiful and grand. 

Here Colonel Daniel Boone was born, 

When accurately reckoned, 
In seventeen hundred thirty-two, 

October twenty-second. 

I still remember, when a boy, 

And with apparent ease. 
The large extensive tracts of woods 

And their majestic trees. 

Here lots of game of every kind 
Must have been freely found, 

And this had given Boone a taste 
For larger hunting ground. 

GANAWESE. 

The Ganawese on the Potomac 

Did not appear to thrive. 
And asked to move to Tulpehocken 

In seventeen hundred five. 

Manangy, then, the Schuylkill chief, 
Asked Penn for his approval. 

And showed some cogent reason for 
Their permanent removal. 

The officers infoi'med Manangy 

That they would all agree 
Provided that the said Manangy 

Would give a guarantee 
For their continued good behavior 

While in their heighborhood. 
And then Manangy guaranteed 

Their conduct should be good. 

PENN'S TITLE. 

King Charles the II. owed the Penns 
Some sixteen thousand pound, 

And gave them for this debt, this state 
With all the minerals found. 

But when they sold their right and title 
The Penns received, in fine. 

One hundred thirty thousand pounds 
In seventeen seventy-nine. 



But Penn desired to live in peace 

With every Indian band 
And to obtain their will and friendship, 

He paid them fOr their land. 

Up to this time the land was settled 

Without one molestation. 
And yet the Indians ne'er received 

One cent of compensation. 

Then in the year of seventeen eighteen 
He paid them for their land 

Including- all below South Mountain, 
In full of all demand. 

Among the articles he gave 

For this large piece of land, 
Were thirty bottles, thirty gimlets 

Some shoes of English brand. 
Three hundred large tobacco pipes 

And thirty pewter spoons. 
One hundred of the best iewsharps 

To play their Indian tunes. 
One hundred needles for their wives 

And thirty common combs. 
And thirty pounds of coarse brown su- 
gar 

To sweeten things at homes. 



PALATINES IN NEW YORK. 

Lieutenant Governor. William Keith, 
In seventeen twenty-three. 

Rode up to Albany. New Yoi'k, 
And thence to Schoharie. 

Here many Palatines had fled 

From European thrall, 
With promises of land and homes 

And happines'^ for all. 

But when he saw the Palatines 

Ruled by official knaves. 
And robbed of every civil right 

And treated worse than slaves. 
He gave them, then, with best intent, 

A pressing invitation 
Tn choose land on the Tulpehocken 

For their new habitation. 

The hardships of the Palatines 
Increased from year to year 



Until they, in the next four years. 
Began to mutineer. 

Then thirty and three families 

No longer could forbear; 
Came to the land of Tulpehoeken 

And humbly settled there. 

SASOONAN PROTESTS. 
In seventeen hundred twenty-eight 

Some day late in the spring, 
Was present at a council meeting 

Sasoonan, their chief king. 
Who said that he was much surprised 

That Christians took their land 
For which they were not paid, and this 

He could not understand. 

They then unfolded all their deeds 
Which Penn had ever made, 

And found that for this fertile land 
The Indians were not paid. 

CONRAD WEISER. 
In seventeen hundred twenty-nine 

More Palatines came here, 
And with them came J. Conrad Weiser, 

A man without a peer. 

He built a house in Heidelberg, 

Along the public way. 
And there it stands quite well preserv'd 

Yet at the present day. 

What Washington was to the states 

In freedom, peace and war, 
C. Weiser was to our state, 

A prudent counsellor. 

The Indians knew his words were true, 

And readily believed them. 
For Weiser never talked to them 

And afterward deceived them. 

The white men knew his honesty 

From years of intercourse, 
In influence and character 

He was a man of force. 

In counsel he was logical. 
In mental vigor great, 

10 



And was a noble benefactor 

To county and to state. 
The fact is that had it not been 

For Welser's personal force 
The loss in the French- Indian war 

Would have been vastly worse. 

The place of meeting Indian chiefs 

Which was in Amity still, 
Was changed to Conrad Weiser's house 

From famous Douglassville. 

PAID FOR LAND BETWEEN THE 
SOUTH AND BLUE MOUNTAINS. 

To pacify the Indian chiefs 

In seventeen thirty-two, 
The Penns bought all the land up to 

The Kittatinny Blue. 

This tract included most of Berks 
To the Blue Mountain's crest 

And from Northampton in the east 
To Dauphin in the west. 

Now it may interest all of you 

If I in part explain 
What Penn gave to the Indian chiefs 

For this immense domain. 

Among the articles, he gave 

Were kettles, hats and shoes. 
Some twenty guns and fifty hatchets 

To hollow their canoes; 
A lot of powder, lead and hoes. 

One hundred twenty knives. 
Some paint and sixty pairs of scissors — 

A pre.sent for their wives; 
And, lastly, fifty pounds in money, 

And with this little sum 
Tobacco and tobacco pipes 

And fifty gallons of rum. 

ALL INDIANS HAD LEFT THE 
COUNTY IN 1732. 
Remember that the Indian chiefs 

Had sold their hunting gi'ounds. 
And moved their towns and counci fires 

Some miles beyond our bounds. 

The kings and chiefs made annual tours 
With wampum as their token 

11 



Of friendship and goodwill to Penn 
From their chief town, Shamokin. 

These chiefs would stop and spend some 
days 

With honored Conrad Weiser, 
Because they knew in him they had 

A friend and sympathizer. 

He took them down to Philadelphia, 
Where he was rightly known; 

And managed their affairs as well 
As he dispatched his own. 

He brought them back to Heidelberg 
And entertained them there; 

He knew their wants and gave to them 
Large quantities of fare. 

Now Weiser never had a dread 

Nor did he ever fear 
Because he always sent them off 

In evident good cheer. 

OTHER SETTLEMENTS. 
Caernarvon township, just above 

The southern bound' ry line. 
Was settled by the Welsh already 

In seventeen twenty-nine. 

And in the meantime settlers came 

And filled the eastern vale. 
Composed of Washington and Hereford 

And fertile Colebrookdale. 

These people are devout and known 

By their religious rites. 
As Schwenkfelders and Catholics, 

And some as Mennonites. 

These settlers moved along the land 
With slow but constant motion. 

And swept o'er all the country like 
The billows of the ocean. 

This civilizing power spread 
In more than one direction. 

And in the course of thirty years 
Had covered every section. 

There were no drones among these men, 
They did not come to roam, 

12 



They fled from tyranny and came 
To build themselves a home. 

Imagine these industrious people 

To take a piece of land. 
And not a house to shelter them, 

But saw and axe in hand, 
Cut down the trees, adjust the logs 

By hard, incessant toil. 
And clear the land of wood and trees 

And cultivate the soil. 

In thirty years this county made 
(To some it may seem strange) 

A quick and rapid transformation — 
A great and wondrous change. 

Convenient places for a house 

Were usually selected, 
And then a transient house and barn 

Were speedily erected. 

They cleared the land and tilled the soil 

And cultivated lots; 
The rugged, ancient wilderness 

They changed to garden spots. 

THE CHURCHES. 
As soon as houses had been built 

To shield against the weather, 
The people of a neighborhood 

All freely joined together, 
And built small churches and school- 
house 

At a select location, 
To give their people and their children 

A Christian education. 

The early settlers were all men. 
Known for their faith and piety, 

And practiced daily their convictions 
Of truth, love and sobriety. 

They lived in peace and happiness, 

And treated all men fairly. 
And when they sold or bartered goods 

They always acted squarely. 

This process of development 

In every man's career, 
Went on without an obstacle 

And grew from year to year. 

13 



The churches were built far apart, 
And they were small and few, 

But they received a strong impulse 
In seventeen forty-two. 

A number of Moravian brethren 
Had, years before this, planned, 

To Christianize the heathen Indians 
In this new, promised land. 

They had established mission stations 

At eligible places, 
Where they instructed all they met, 

Both white and Indian races. 

In seventeen forty-two they had 

A great religious rally 
Of many white and Indian men, 

Down in the Oley Valley. 

Count Zinzendorf and Bishop Nitsch- 
man 
Preached in the barn of a Van Dirk, 
And brothers Henry Rauch and Buett- 
ner 
Helped them in this religious work. 

A large concourse of whites and Indians 
Had come from far and wide. 

To hear the word of God expounded 
And to be edified. 

According to Loskiel's report, 
This was a sol'mn occasion. 

The spirit of the Lord pervaded 
This ardent congregation. 

A band of Delawares were present. 

Just partly civilized. 
And three who had come from New 
York, 

Confessed and were baptized. 

These Indians were no doubt the first, 

Themselves to consecrate. 
And be baptized in Christian faith. 

In this great Keystone State. 

So great was the enthusiasm 

On this divine occasion, 
That preaching was prolonged a day 

And night without cessation. 

14 



The brethren took their turns in preach- 
ing. 

And preached with all their might. 
The Indians sat composedly, 

And listened all the night. 

KINGS AT WEISER'S. 
In August seventeen forty-two 

A hundred chiefs and kings 
Had gone to Philadel. to treat 

About some tribal things. 

They were in charge of Conrad Weiser, 

With whom they did repair 
To Heidelberg where Weiser lived, 

And entertained them there. 

How long he entertained them there 

Is not exactly known. 
But he did not defray the cost 

With money of his own. 

The state gave him five hundred dollars 

And to this liberal sum 
The Indians made a kind request 

For twenty gallons of rum. 

While they remained with Conrad Wei- 
ser 

Without a strife or breach. 
Count Zinzendorf and William Zander 

Came there to talk and pi-each. 

At first they turned away from them 
With strong signs of declension; 

But after Weiser spoke to them 
They gave them their attention. 

LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
The Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg 

Came with the hope and view 
Of working up the Lutheran Church 

In seventeen forty-two. 

He went into the settlements. 

And frequently baptized. 
He preached wherever people gathered, 

And taught and catechized. 

He gave the church an impetus, 
And people consolation, 

15 



And planted there the Luth'ran Church, 
Upon a firm foundation. 

REFORMED CHURCH. 
Next came the Rev. Michael Schlatter, 

The faithful pioneer 
Of the Reformed denomination, 

To preach their doctrine here. 

The Lutherans and the Reformed 
Moved forward hand in hand, 

And in their work they took a firm 
And an aggressive stand. 

READING. 

Up to this time there were no towns. 

Nor villages projected, 
Nor were there any schemes or plans 

For government effected. 

There was no central place of trade. 

Where settlers could apply 
When they had anything to sell, 

Or if they wished to buy. 

With this important view in mind, 

To bring about this state. 
The Penns laid out the town of Reading 

In seventeen forty-eight. 

COUNTY. 

The settlers were quite numerous. 

And had already pressed, 
North to the Blue, and from Lehigh 

To Lebanon in the west. 

They had no means of taking then 

A census of the polls, 
The population was considered 

About ten thousand souls. 

The courts were held in Philadelphia 

Too far for many a one. 
Where all transfers of property 

And legal work was done. 

To get this great convenience. 
Two hundred signers prayed 

Lieutenant Governor Thomas that 
A county should be made. 

16 



And in compliance with their prayer 
Their wishes were respected, 

And March llth, fifty-two, 
■^erks County was erected. 

One hundred fifty years ago, 

Do not forget the date. 
That is the great memorial day — 

The day we celebrate. 



PEACE FOR FIFTY-FIVE YEARS. 

For fully fifty and five years 
The white and Indian races 

Had dwelt in peace and real friendship 
And in adjoining places. 

They bartered such things as they had, 

Dealt fairly on both sides, 
The Indians always seemed content 

And fully satisfied. 

On some occasions wicked men 
Would rob them in their trade. 

But the officials always saw 
That fair returns were made. 

The Indian chiefs and white men met 

On numerous occasions, 
And for their warm continual friendship 

They gave congratulations. 

There was no conflict and no strife 

For fifty and five years, 
Nor was there ever any cause 

Of terror or of fears. 

Now after such a lapse of time 

You surely would contend. 
That such a long continued peace 

Would never, never end. 

But soon some of these friendly Indians 

Became a murderous band, 
And murdered, robbed and burned the 
houses 

Through this once peaceful land. 

They fell upon the quiet people 
While on their farms engaged. 

And sometimes killed whole families, 
The young as well as aged. 

17 



They scalped the fathers and the moth- 
ers, 

In very many places, 
And murdered them most horribly 

Before their children's faces. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

The cause of this was a dispute 

(Historians assign) 
Between the English and the French, 

About a boundary line. 

The English and the colonies, 

United on one side. 
And on the other part, the French 

And Indians were allied. 

Those horrible barbarities 

Were frequently repeated, 
Until the French and Indian allies 

Were routed and defeated. 

You cannot at this present day 

Without a shudder read 
The murder of the Reichelderfers 

A most inhuman deed; 
Nor of the cruel killing of 

The Gerhart family. 
In seventeen hundred fifty-six 

In northern Albany. 

Deep-seated feelings of revenge 

Our throbbing bosoms fill. 
When we peruse the Myers' fate, 

Just north of Shartlesville. 

The fear and terror of Fort Northkill 
The people's mind distressed, 

And still more at Fort Dietrich Six, 
In Bethel further west. 

The capture of Regina Hartman, 

And her devoted mate. 
Is the most thrilling incident 

That happened in this state. 

The murders of the Palatines 

Their sufferings and fear, 
Along the famous Tulpehocken 

Can't be related here. 

18 



If you desire a full account 

Of Indian depredation, 
Read Brunner's "Indians of Berks 
County" 

For further information. 

AFTER THE FRENCH AND INDIAN 
WAR. 

But after a durance of five or six years 
With all its concomitant horrors and 

fears, 
The strength of the French in this war 

was expended. 
And all its severity and terror had 

ended. 

The Palatines were with discourage- 
ment filled 

When they saw their near friends 
either captured or killed. 

Discouraged by losses of houses and 
farms, 

Life seemed to be shorn of its loveliest 
charms. 

And Weiser on whom the good people 
relied. 

In the meantime, unhapp'ly had sick- 
ened and died. 

In seventeen sixty, thirteenth of July, 

At his Heidelberg home, where his 
ashes still lie. 

And had it not been for the friendly re- 
lations 

Between Conrad Weiser and Iroquois 
nations 

Through murder and capture w^hich all 
men deplore 

The Palatines then would have suffered 
much more. 

But after the war which all settlers 

deplored, 
And when a safe quiet -and peace were 

restored 
The Palatines then with new vigor and 

toil 
Began to build homes and better the 

soil. 

19 



New settlers arrived and acquired more 
land, 

The number began to increase and ex- 
pand, 

And in a few years the people regained 

Their former contentment and happi- 
ness reigned. 

And scarcely had these hapless people 
paid for 

The losses sustained in the French-In- 
dian war, 

And before they could realize it was 
discovered 

That over their future another war 
hovered. 

In the fifties they fought for the Eng- 
lishman's land. 

Defended their homes under English 
command; 

For French domination they had no af- 
fection, 

But wished to remain under English 
protection. 

REVOLUTION. 

But soon after all the French forces 
were quelled 

They shortly discovered that they were 
compelled 

To fight with more vigor for home and 
possession. 

Against the tyrannical English oppres- 
sion. 

They strugg"led for years with their 
means and their might, 

And fought for their homes, for freedom 
and right. 

And gave the stamp Englishmen well- 
deserved licks. 

In seventeen hundred and seventy-six. 

And to this there was but a simple so- 
lution, 

And that was America's great Revolu- 
tion, 

They fought against burdensome taxes 
on tea 

And other necessities till they were 
free. 

20 



Battalions were marshalled in every 
section, 

Under the wise guidance and able di- 
rection 

Of Colonels Dan Hunter, Dan Udree, J. 
Weaver, 

Balser Gehr, Henrv Spyker and Captain 
George Beaver. 

A areat many men of the young and the 

old 
Throughout the whole county were 

early enrolled, 
To battle for freedom and manfully 

fight 
To establish sound peace, independence 

and right. 

The colonies were without funds and 

resources^ 
And not the means of collecting their 

forces 
To fight the drilled soldiers completely 

equipped 
Which, with ammunition, old England 

had shipped. 

The city of Reading for fitness and size. 

Was made a great depot for army sup- 
plies. 

And when these supplies with balls and 
ammunition 

Were to be ti-ansported with loads of 
provision. 

The farmers were called, upon such an 
occasion. 

To bring in their wagons and make 
transportation. 

For six years and six months, or at 

least, thereabout. 
The fate of their triumph was often in 

doubt, 
Sometimes they were hopeful, and then 

in distress, 
But their efforts at last were crowned 

with success. 

Now in this long struggle 'gainst tyran- 
ny's might. 

They gained their desired independence 
and right; 

21 



Though through this long warfare the 

men became poor. 
Yet their independence and freedom 

were sure. 

Overburdened with taxes to pay the 
war debt 

And not a state banli or full treasury 
yet, 

The old "Continental Shinplasters" be- 
came 

Worth less in their value as well as in 
name. 

This long agitation of war had engaged 

The minds of the young as well as the 
aged, 

It had all departments of business af- 
fected 

And even the farming was somewhat 
neglected. 

But after a struggle for many a year. 

The prospect of freedom had filled them 
with cheer; 

They looked at the future with heart- 
felt delight, 

Because independence was clearly in 
sight. 

The county already in full operation 

Then followed our state's new organi- 
zation; 

And this was the second step in the 
great plan 

Of gaining the full independence of 
man. 

And lastly to perfect the work they had 

wrought. 
For which they had aimed and for 

which they had fought. 
The union of states so nobly begun — 
E Pluribus Unum, from many the one. 

George Washington chosen the first in 

the line 
In seventeen hundred and eighty and 

nine, 
And then Thomas Mifflin one year after 

date 

22 



Was chosen chief magistrate of our 
state. 

These triple relations of county and 

state 
Imposed upon people new duties of 

weight, 
And then they began with unbounded 

delight 
To exercise thence their long coveted 

right. 

When the union of states had a solid 
foundation 

The county and state were in full oper- 
ation. 

The people took hold of the plow and 
spade 

And turned their atention to farming 
and trade. 

It was then that the people dropped 
war and its cares , 

And gave their attention to domestic 
affairs. 

They took their war guns from the field 
of the battle 

And looked after farms and the care of 
the cattle. 

They stored their old muskets in gar- 
rets and nooks 

And beat their worn swords into fit 
"pruning hooks." 

The houses were built with more com- 
fort and style. 

The people began to be happy and 
smile. 

More churches were built for worship 
and song. 

More schools were established for teach- 
ing the young. 

PROSPERITY. 

The burdensome taxes incurred in the 

war 
Were getting much less, they were 

largely paid for. 
While many a settler with his children 

and wife 
Came to settle down for the enjoyment 

of life. 

23 



The settlers were bound by the friend- 
liest ties, 

The houses increased both in comfort 
and size, 

For mutual protection, they labored in 
union. 

In honor and friendship they lived in 
communion. 

With such a kind sympathy toward 

each other, 
They all were as friendly as brother to 

brother; 
Honest traffic among them was always 

maintained. 
And on these conditions prosperity 

reigned. 

The rapid additions to their population 
Their zeal in religion and civilization, 
Demanded that larger provision be 

made 
To expedite husbandry, business and 

trade. 

To supply these demands new machine 

shops and mills 
Were built in the valleys and up on our 

hills. 
To fashion the iron which furnaces 

made 
Into proper utensils for farming and 

trade. 

Small furnaces had been already in 

blast. 
And quantities of the best iron were 

cast, 
At Colebrookdale, Oley, at Hopewell 

and Pine, 
At Pool and Joanna, the iron was fine. 

The people began to collect in com- 
munities 

In places that offered increased oppor- 
tunities 

For suitable markets and centres of 
trade. 

Where they could dispose of such 
things as they made. 

24 



Each centre at first, though of little re- 
nown 

Grew year after year to a village or 
town; 

But later it crystallized into a borough, 

To make the community perfect and 
thorough. 

BOROUGHS. 

Kutztown is the oldest, as might be ex- 
pected. 

And Womelsdorf was soon after 
erected; 

Busy Hamburg located just south of 
the hills, 

And Birdsboro' known for its furnace 
and mills. 

Both Fleetwood and Boyertown claim 

some attention, 
And for their large mills they deserve 

special mention; 
But Centreport, Bernville and Topton, 

you know, 
Are young and have time to develop 

and grow. 

The same may be mentioned of Len- 

hartsville, too. 
And Bechtelville, for the two boroughs 

are new. 
While West Leesport, the youngest, an 

infant concern. 
Was recently carved from the township 

of Bern. 

THE FIRST NEWSPAPERS IN THE 
COUNTY AND POSTOPPICE. 

The people sought channels and swift 
avenues 

To get the state, county and all local 
news; 

And then to supply this new longing 
of m.an. 

The Adler its flights and existence be- 
gan. 

It fluttered e'er since with its tireless 

wings, 
And over a century old, it still brings 
Intelligence weekly in its certain flight 

25 



To the German inhabitants' joy and 
delight. 

In eighteen and sixteen this wish mul- 
tiplied, 

And for this same knowledge the Eng- 
lish men sighed, 

And to gratify those who were English 
in tongue. 

The Berks-Schuylkill Journal came 
■ happ'ly along. 

Remember, as early as eighteen and 
ten, 

The county had but five postofRces 
then; 

Now one hundred and sixty bring us 
and our neighbors 

Light merchandise, letters and news- 
bearing papers. 



JOSEPH HIESTER ELECTED 
GOVERNOR. 

While the men were concerned about 

farms and their cares 
They gave some attention to public 

affairs; 
And some of the statesmen at this early 

date 
Became very famous throughout the 

whole state. 

In reading the history of th' county, 

we learn 
That in eighteen and twenty J. Hiester, 

of Bern, 
A man of integrity, honest and square, 
Was elected to fill the Governor's chair. 

Throughout his whole life Joseph Hies- 
ter was great; 

He was a great honor to county and 
state, 

And the first one to issue a recom- 
mendation. 

For a system of public and free educa- 
tion. 



26 



GENERAL, PROGRESS. 

Reading had at this time but a small 
population. 

And not a s'ood place for trade and 
speculation; 

Philadelphia was then the great centre 
of trade, 

And there is where all the great bar- 
gains vifive made. 

To this market the farmers hauled pro- 
duce and grain. 

And purchased such things as to farm- 
ing pertain. 

The country storekeepers drove down 
the "old road," 

And on every trip they had a big load 

Of farmers' produce, such as butter and 
eggs; 

And brought in return full barrels and 
kegs 

Of sugar and nails and much other 
stuff, 

From velvets and silks to tobacco and 
snuff. 

But traffic and business increased very 
fast, 

And soon it became so enormous and 
vast, 

That the Schuylkill Canal, with this sole 
expectation, 

Was built in the twenties to aid trans- 
portation. 

The boats were too slow but carried 

great weight. 
But in a few years they were quite out 

of date. 
Then high in the thirties, the railroad 

was made 
To expedite traveling, commerce and 

trade. 

Thus with the same speed that trafRc 

was moved. 
All business and factories and farming 

improved. 
This progress was constant and really 

incessant. 
From the county's erection right down 

to the present. 



READING. 

Now when we look backward just two 

hundred years, 
And study the homes of the first 

pioneers, 
What wondrous vicissitudes have taken 

place 
In such a comparative shortness of 

space. 

The industrious settlers who came from 

all lands, 
With their families — axes and spades 

in their hands — 
Removed the great forest in Penn's 

large domain 
And made the land blossom with fruit, 

corn and grain. 

Behold the pen picture I now shall pre- 
sent 

Of the changes the county of Berks un- 
derwent; 

Look carefully then, I profoundly im- 
plore you, 

While the great panorama moves brisk- 
ly before you. 

See the wilderness through which the 

Indians once stormed, 
Through decades of wearisome labor, 

transformed 
To the beautiful garden-spots where 

you reside 
In houses and mansions where gods 

might abide. 

Without the delay of a moment of time, 
I beg you to hasten Penn's Mountain to 

climb, 
And when you've ascended the Tower, 

then view 
The valley between the South Mountain 

and Blue. 

You'll see a rich country with excel- 
lent soil, 

So rendered by industry, labor and toil. 

And checkered with farms and dwell- 
ings to date 

That are in no county excelled in the 
state. 

28 



You'll see where the old Tulpehocken 
flows down. 

And unites with the Schuylkill above 
our town, 

And these with some thousands of ob- 
jects you glean. 

Present a most glorious and rapturous 
scene. 

At. the base of Mount Penn, you there 

will find, spreading, 
The prosp'rous and beautiful city of 

Reading. 
Instead of the huts of a barbarous race 
You'll find grander buildings now fill- 
ing the place — 
Many prominent mansions along our 

hills, 
Large furnaces, shops and industrial 

mills, 
And churches with steeples and spires 

that rise. 
Which, in their grave majesty, point to 

the skies. 

Instead of the whoop of Manangy the 
king, 

Which echoed from Schuylkill to Min- 
eral Spring, 

You'll hear the loud sound of the steam 
whistle swell, 

And the soft, mellow notes of the 
"church going bell." 

The Mineral Spring Valley, though nar- 
row and short. 

Now an elegant winter and summer re- 
sort. 

Was once a romantic and desolate glen, 

And a fitting retreat for uncivilized 
men. 

But the hand of refinement and civili- 
zation. 

Has recently wrought a complete trans- 
formation. 

And the glen with its trees, that are 
lofty and slender, 

Has gained very much in its beauty 
and splendor 

By aiding pure nature in every part, 

29 



With embellishments and decorations 
of art. 

The rivulet with its swift current and 

bridges, 
And murmuring cascades o'er small 

stony ridges, 
With other improvements, adds beauty 

and grace 
And makes of this glen a most elegant 

place. 

SCHUYLKILL VALLEY. 

Contrast the nice houses, the land and 

its tillage. 
With the wigwams and huts of the long 

Indian village, 
And the Delaware tribe, with the white 

population, 
From Angelica southward to Exeter 

Station. 

The country has changed and improve- 
ments were made. 

With the axe and the saw, the pick and 
the spade. 

The shops of the Red Men have left 
only traces 

And the mills in the valley have taken 
their places. 

The passenger whistle and engineer's 
bell 

Now echo so sweetly through Klapper- 
than dell, 

Instead of the shout of the chief with 
his bow 

Who reigned in the valley two centu- 
ries ago. 

OLEY. 

The township of Oley once covered with 
trees, 

Now stripped of the wood axid changed 
into leas — 

Once the home of the Indians as well as 
the lair 

Of the swift-footed deer and the wan- 
dering bear. 

Had later a furnace in one of its 
groves, 

30 



For casting the best of pig iron and 
stoves, 

And to this belonged further up in a 
gorge. 

As an aid to the furnace, a well equip- 
ped forge. 

And when the good people of Oley had- 

made 
A boom in the forge and the cast iron 

trade, 
They turned their attention to 'nother 

pursuit, 
To the culture of grain, potatoes and 

fruit. 

And now the fine farms in such high 
cultivation, 

Arouse in the mind the profound admi- 
ration, 

Of every intelligent farmer, and all 

Who may give the rich men of Oley a 
call. 

MAXATAWlSTY. 

Maxatawny, a level and beautiful plain. 
Productive of bountiful measures of 

grain. 
Has indeed undergone, though this may 

seem strange, 
A remarkable and a most wonderful 

change. 

The wigwams that formerly covered 

the meads, 
The tall and dense woods with the 

brush and the weeds. 
Have all been removed, save only one 

trace. 
A^nd Kutztown now covers the elegant 

place. 

While Kutztown is known as a beauti- 
ful town 

'Tis the Keystone State Normal that 
gives it renown; 

It stands like a beacon upon the sea 
shore. 

And illumines the county with practical 
lore. 



31 



ONTELAUNEE VALLEY. 

Moselem, once owned by the Indians of 

yore. 
Was lately well known for its furnace 

and ore; 
The scenes on the old Ontelaunee are 

charming, 
And the land is well suited for grazing 

and farming. 

Sacunk up at Virginsville which was, 
in short, 

The Indians' dear Mecca or annual re- 
sort, 

Is now a small village, though quiet 
and plain, 

Where real content and prosperity 
reign. 

TULPEHOCKEN. 

But let us now go from the mouth of 
the Sacon, 

To the banks of the old and renowned 
Tulpehocken, 

Once the scene of barbarity, murder and 
ravages, 

Of a horde of most cruel and blood- 
thirsty savages. 

No part of our interesting history pre- 
sents 

A list of such horrid and stirring 
events, 

As the land of the old Tulpehocken did, 
when 

It was plundered by fiends who were 
once friendly men. 

The Palatines ne'er did the Indians a 

. harm. 
And yet they destroyed oft the crops of 

the farm. 
Burned houses and buildings, and after 

the wrecks. 
They murdered without a distinction of 

sex. 

The three Heidelbergs and Marion, just 
west. 

The two Tulpehockens and Bethel at- 
test 

32 



The suffering's and fear in the French- 
Indian war. 

And sufferings all civilized people ab- 
hor. 

But the woe of the Palatines ended at 
last, 

And the people have almost forgotten 
the past; 

Indiff'rent about their forefathers' de- 
spairs 

They are more concerned in their fu- 
ture affairs. 

BERKS COUNTY. 

Berks County is well and abundantly 

blest 
From Hereford in the east to Bethel in 

the west. 
And from Caernarvon, all townships in 

order. 
To Tilden and Windsor and Albany's 

border. 

The farms are well managed with heed, 

care and taste. 
And no land is allowed to lie fallow or 

waste; 
The houses are mansions of beauty and 

grace, 
And every appointment is right in its 

place. 

The crops are all good and the cereals 
are fine. 

The grapes that r,re raised give us ex- 
cellent wine; 

We get the farm products with lots of 
good cherries. 

And in season we get an abundance of 
berries. 

The factories are running by day and 
by night. 

And lighted by brilliant electrical light. 

The men and mechanics have constant 
employment 

With leisure sufficient for rest and en- 
joyment. 



33 



The steam cars and trolleys almost to 
perfection 

Extend through the county in every di- 
rection, 

And convey many people who in a great 
measure 

Are traveling for recreation and pleas- 
ure. 

The county and city are amply sup- 
plied 

With churches and schools, our boast 
and our pride; 

The young are instructed by compe- 
tent teachers. 

And the older are counseled by eloquent 
preachers. 

Everv wise and intelligent reader now 

blesses 
The telepragh, telephone and printing 

presses, 
For rathering the news of the world 

every day. 
And giving it to him without a delay. 

There may be no booming, but business 

is fair, 
Of traffic and commerce we have our 

share; 
There may be but few things in which 

we excel. 
But in general the county has done very 

well. 

What wonderful progress and changes 

took place 
Within our bounds and the county's 

short race. 
But what may betide, come tell us. O! 

seers. 
In the coming one hundred and fifty 

fleet years. 

And may the good people of this fa- 
vored county 

Enjoy the full measure of nature's rich 
bounty. 

And may their success at this Sesqui- 
Centennial, 

Lose none of its vigor, but may be per- 
ennial. 

S4 




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